Kizuna no Kyoudai
by DreamStar14
Summary: Life used to be good, but Truth had a nasty way of taking it all away from him. Even after he got it all back, Truth took it away from him. Now Al must find the courage and nerve to get it all back again. Post CoS AU
1. Chapter 1

A/N: The title is in Japanese and it means "Brothers' Bonds" or "Bonds of Brothers". This is a slight AU, as Alfons Heidrich was never shot and is still alive, and this takes place after the movie. Alphonse Elric also has his long hair in this, mainly because he's cuter with his hair long. At least, I think so. But the plot-wise reason is stated in the story. This is also based off of the dub. This first part is written in Alphonse Elric's point of view.

WARNING: Please do NOT mistake this as Elricest or Yaoi, PLEASE! This is strictly friendly/brotherly love. Keep your dirty thoughts away from this story!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its brilliant characters. Hiromu Arakawa owns them I never will, sadly. Thank you, Arakawa-sensei, for making such awesome characters!

NOTES: I thought about this little story when I saw a fanart on DeviantArt. It's titled "Ed Al and Hei sketch" by lois4dead4. Thanks to lois4dead4! It is really awesome!

This is my first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic! Please be nice!

~FMA~FMA~FMA~FMA~

**Kizuna no Kyoudai**

_Alphonse Elric_

Alphonse Elric opened his gray eyes the next morning in a sleepy matter. He lightly groaned, an aching feeling in his heart. He knew what was coming. He just didn't want to believe it.

Al got dressed in this clothes that he got three months ago that his five-year-older brother Edward had so kindly let him have. He went to the bathroom last, wanting a mirror to put his light brunette hair up into a perfect ponytail. He was glad he didn't have short hair. It would've made him look more like Alfons Heidrich. No one knew or suspected that Al had anything against the older boy. Al just didn't seem like that kind of a person. But strangely enough, Al didn't have something against him. It started with something that happened three months ago when he decided to come to the other side with his brother, and it was still going on today.

The first month, Edward had paid attention to both Als. But as the first month had drawn to a close, Edward was paying more attention to Heidrich than to his own brother, and it ticked Alphonse off like hell. During the second month, it only got worse. Edward only had small talk with his little brother, and it was usually when Heidrich wasn't there with them, in short, only when Heidrich had to work late for some reason. The third month wasn't necessarily any better. In fact, it only got worse. Alphonse's anger and jealousy had turned to anger, jealousy, and utter sadness, because Ed, most likely, had been convinced that his little brother did not exist at all. Al had grown to hate Heidrich for the main purpose of stealing his brother, but he never told anyone this. He knew well enough that Heidrich was a very likeable person and had tons of friends. Al didn't want anyone to be mad at him or hate him just because he hated Heidrich.

Most of all, Al did not want to tell his older brother about this. He knew that his brother and Heidrich were best friends, and he didn't want to ruin his brother's happiness or ruin their friendship, but he didn't want the relationship that he had with his brother to disintegrate either. So poor little Alphonse Elric was torn between telling his brother and not telling anyone and being alone forever. He just couldn't stand what he was going through right now.

Al sighed. What had he done to make his brother hate him this much? What happened that made his brother so mad at him that he wouldn't talk to him anymore? It seemed like Al didn't have any reason to live. He was so depressed and sad that he didn't any hope that his brother would ever talk to him again, which went against his kind and hopeful nature all the way. But one person helped him through each and every day.

Once he entered the kitchen, he could see why he lived for only this person now. Noah always had a kind smile on her face. She always left Heidrich and Edward alone to themselves and went to talk to Al. Al could understand her pain somewhat. Heidrich and Ed were ignoring her now too. She had come to live with them for a while until she found where she truly belonged. However, her pain was nothing next to Al's.

"Good morning, Alphonse," Noah said politely. Al faked a smile at her, and she didn't notice his pain. At least to his thoughts, she didn't.

"Good morning, Noah," Al replied, sleepily. Boy was he tired. He had stayed awake, afraid that the nightmares would come back. But then he fell asleep eventually.

Another thing he never told anyone. Ever since he passed through the gate three months ago, he's been getting images about, what Al suspected, this world's future. He kept seeing a mushroom cloud, mass murder by poisonous gas, and burning flames not only in camps but everywhere as the world was succumbed to war and hate. Al never told anyone about this simply for the sake of their happiness. He didn't want anyone to worry about him, especially not his brother. In fact, Al thought that his brother didn't deserve to know.

But everything right now was a daily routine for him. He was used to it. He always knew what was coming, even if something new or special was happening that day, which was rare. It always happened. Al would try to get his brother's attention, but Heidrich would always interrupt and ruin it.

Noah expressed her natural concern for the young boy. "Are you alright? Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, Noah. Everything is fine. No need to be so concerned," Al said, taking a sip of his freshly made hot chocolate. He sat at the table beside Noah and across from Heidrich, who was turned to Ed on his (Heidrich's) left. That way, Al could glare at the one who stole his brother without him noticing.

Noah left Al alone, who was lost deep in thought, and only awakened when his brother mad a sharp, loud, and happy laugh. Al kept listening. It was a joke made by Heidrich. There it was again. Edward's happiness was usually fueled by Heidrich's good nature, not Al's.

Even though this was a usual routine, Al couldn't help but feel that this one joke and laugh was crossing the line for Al. He tried not to accept it, but he tried not to deny it either. Al's light brown hair now covered his now cloudy eyes. His jealousy was brewing inside and his bottom lip was trembling. He was trying very hard not to cry.

But he couldn't help it. Somehow, his mind had fully accepted this was the breaking point and Al couldn't hold it in anymore. But he didn't want to seem weak in front of the others, especially Noah. He had to be strong for her, but Al couldn't help it. Inevitably, his tears were going to fall. They were going to be in public for everyone to see them.

In a desperate attempt to hide his tears, Al abruptly stood, actually and finally gaining the attention of Edward and Heidrich as well as Noah. Al could sense the awkwardness in the air. The silence was intense and no one dared to break it. No one except Al.

"I need some fresh air," was all the little thirteen-year-old said. Without any other word, Al walked over to the door, got his coat, put on his shoes, and opened the door and closed it after going through. Al put his trench coat on in the hallway. Again, he didn't want to be like Heidrich. He wanted to look like his brother, not his counter-part, who wore a short jacket.

As soon as Al stepped outside, he ran. He ran and ran. He didn't care that it was pouring rain outside. He kept running. No one was outside at the moment, so Al let his heavy tears fall down his face along with the rain.

'_Dang, the angels must really be sad today,'_ Al thought subconsciously. His mother had told him and Ed that the raindrops were the tears of the angels. The harder it rained, the sadder the angels were. _'I'm guessing the angels are sad because I am too. Mom must be crying for me.'_

Al only stopped when he tripped over a stone in the sidewalk. He felt his ankle twist upon impact. He made an attempt to use the foot he tripped over to catch himself, but it was a good idea at first. When he landed on his ankle, he heard it crack and felt the pain rush in like an ever-flowing water stream. Because of this, Al cried even harder. He limped over to an empty alley and took refuge there from the heavy rain that would be soaking through his clothes if it were not for the trench coat he had been wearing. Al thought that in a sense, Edward was protecting Al. His coat was shielding Al from the rain. Al's light brunette hair was already soaked, no doubt about that, as were his cloudy, gray eyes.

He heard a soft mew coming from the corner. He held out his hand and out came a little, brown and white kitten. The kitten came over to the boy and licked his hand with its warm tongue. Al smiled at it.

"I guess we're both the same, huh?" Al asked the kitty. "We're both cold, wet, and lonely." Al remembered that he left most of his hot, probably by now cold, chocolate on the kitchen table. "And I guess we're both hungry." Al smiled softly at the kitten as it snuggled under Al's coat for warmth. Al didn't mind. In fact, he liked the company. The smile was small, but it was real. Too bad no one saw it.

He let the cat stay inside his coat pocket, where it could stay warm and dry. Then a little boy came up and asked Alphonse if had seen his cat "Tacks". Al asked if it was the one inside his coat pocket. It turns out that the kitty already had an owner. Tacks, the cat inside Al's pocket, belonged to the little boy. Al received a big smile and a thank you from the boy before he left with his father and the cat in his arms.

After that, Al didn't know when he fell asleep. He was just lonely again after the cat left. Al really was starving right now. But no one was there to keep him company or buy him anything to eat. Al had no cash or marks. The money, or marks, was kept inside Ed's trench coat pocket. So, without any other way out, Alphonse Elric fell asleep in the wet, rainy alleyway.

He saw nothing but the images inside the gate. The mushroom cloud, death by poisonous air, and the flames that encircled the globe were all plaguing Al's mind. He had no way out. He could not see anything except for the images. No way out. He tried to run, but he didn't go forward. He kept going backwards. The light at the end of the tunnel was fading. It kept moving away from Alphonse. Al screamed, not knowing where to turn now.

Alphonse Elric finally woke up, still in the cold, rainy alleyway, but this time, he wasn't getting wet. His gray eyes looked up into Gracia Hughes's soft green eyes. Her husband, Officer Maes Hughes was standing a little ways behind her. They had most likely gone to get their regular weekly groceries.

"Are you okay, Alphonse?" Gracia asked.

He was now. A little bit. "Yeah," Al said, nodding, thankful that she was holding the umbrella over his head as well as hers. Gracia helped Al up and through her arm around his shoulders in an attempt to warm him up.

Al felt like crying now. He was even tearing up. No, not in a sad way. In a happy way. He thought that no one was going to come for him. No hope was left for him. But instead, Maes and Gracia Hughes had come to the rescue.

"What time is it?" Al asked.

"It is three in the afternoon, Alphonse," Maes said. Woah, holy smokes, he had been out here ever since seven in the morning. He had been in the rain for nearly eight hours!

"Could you take me to the university?" Al asked them. He took one step and he winced. He had forgotten about his ankle. "With your car too, please?"

The university was where the rocketry team worked now. Usually, Al and Noah would go with Ed and Heidrich. But since Al had run out earlier that morning, only Noah had gone with them.

"Sure," Maes said. "We're not going to take you by walking in the rain. Besides, your ankle looks pretty bad."

Al wasn't sure how he knew. It was probably because he winced when he stepped with it. Then again, Maes seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.

Al blinked when an apple was held in front of him. He looked at Gracia, who said, "Here. Have this."

Al nodded and managed a small, "Thank you," before taking it and taking a small bite from it, trying to savor the taste of the sweet apple. Gracia went on with the umbrella after she saw Al safely in the car.

In the car, Maes started up the engine and took out some bandages and handed them to all.

"Here. Wrap you ankle up in this," Maes said, as he started driving to the university. "You're in pain, aren't you?" Maes asked him as they were driving.

"Yeah, my ankle hurts a lot," Al said.

"I didn't mean that, Alphonse," Maes gently interrupted. "I meant something's going on between you and your brother, isn't it? And Heidrich too?"

Al figured that he really did have eyes in the back of his head. He merely nodded his slowly drying light brunette head. His gray eyes were cloudy and moist again.

"What is it?" Maes asked.

"I can't tell you that," Al said. "It's only between me and them."

"Does anyone else know about it?" Maes asked, trying to press him to tell.

"Yeah, just one. Noah knows. She lives with us," Al said, wanting to be at the university already.

"Don't you think that more people ought to know?" Maes asked him. "You know, so you have more friends on your side."

"That's the problem, Officer," Al interjected, a little more aggressive than he wanted to be. "I don't want anyone else to know about it!" Al felt a tear fall, but he didn't care. "All I want is my brother back!" Al softened his voice. "So if you have a plan to help me bring my brother back to his senses, then I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life."

The rest of the ride to the university was an intensely silent and awkward one. Neither one of them dared to speak. Al had said his part. He didn't need to say anything else. Maes, however, didn't find anything worth saying back to the young boy. He couldn't find any words that would convince Al to tell him what was going on. Al's mind was set and not about to change anytime soon.

At the university, Maes said a simple "Bye" after Al got out of the car and he left. He still couldn't find anything to say to Al that would change his mind. So, for now, he would leave it on that and not say anything at all.

At the university, Al knew which room to go to. It was a huge basement, so the rocket team would have enough room to build a full-size rocket. He had been here before many times. He never got lost.

He entered the big room and saw Noah standing off to the side. He muttered a polite hello and after walking over and standing next to her. He turned to him with a warm smile.

"Hello, Alphonse, it's nice to see you're still alive," she said.

"Alive, but cold," Alphonse said.

"Let me see if I can help," Noah putting her arm around him. Just like Mrs. Hughes, she was trying to warm him up. But only his brother could really and truly give him the warmth he desired so badly. But Noah took her arm away quickly.

"What's wrong?" Alphonse asked.

"I saw…" Al was confused. What did she see? "I saw images. Are they from your world or this one?" What images? Then he remembered. He had forgotten about her power to see inside human hearts with a touch. She had seen the images from the gate.

"Probably from this world," Al said. "I'm not sure, but I've been seeing them for the past three months, ever since I came here from Amestris."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I didn't want anyone to worry abut me. I didn't want to stress anyone out with these images. They seem like the future or something. But I don't want to cause anyone pain just because of images that _I_ saw."

"That's not the only thing I saw, Alphonse," Noah said gently. "Why do you hate Alfons Heidrich? He's not the kind of person you can hate for very long. He's impossible to dislike. So why do you hate him?"

Noah had evidently crossed some kind of line for Al. It was just like this morning. People seemed to be either ignorant or misinterpreting his feelings and then because of it, they cross a line of some kind. Even though it happened a lot, Al didn't really mind until today.

"Which side are you on, Noah?" Al asked, his voice being dangerously quiet. This made Noah back up a bit. Where was he going to go with this? "The reason I haven't given up yet is you. You may not know this, but you're the only reason I live now. Without you on my side…I can't see any hope left for me. Without you, all I can see is darkness. With you, I can see light. But it's not enough to give me the hope that my brother will come back for me." Al took a deep breath to keep even more tears from falling. "If you go, I would too. And I mean literally."

He would commit suicide and that would be the end of Alphonse Elric.

Long ago, his only reason for living was his brother, that was his reason for coming over to this side of the gate, but since his brother had gone away, he wasn't anything out there for him. But along came Noah. Noah was enough for him. For now anyways.

Al took yet another deep breath and softly said, "I'm sorry, Noah. But it's the truth."

The two didn't dare speak another word to each other after this. Four more hours dragged on after this and at seven in the afternoon, it was time to leave. This was usual time to pack up and go home. And this was the part Al was dreading the most. This was when he'd probably be faced with all these questions like "Where were you?" or "Why'd you run out like that?" or "Why didn't you come with the others?" or his dreaded least favorite right now "Are you feeling okay?" from the rocket team.

He knew his ankle hurt and he knew that it was showing. Not to mention, he was out in the rain for eight hours and he felt like he was going to be sick. He was dead tired even though he had a little nap outside in the cold wetness. All this pain was combined with his emotional pain that he was feeling and the images he was holding inside for three months now.

"Come on, Al! Let's go!" Al turned to his brother, with a smile, thinking he had come to his senses, finally, but his smile faded as quickly as it had come. His brother was still only talking to Heidrich.

'_Damn that Heidrich. First he steals my name, then my looks, and then my brother. What's next? My dignity?'_ Al's anger only added to all of his pain. It didn't help.

"Come on, Alphonse." Al turned to Noah. "Let's go." Al smiled a little and nodded. She had said to him what he deserved to be told. It should've been by his brother, but Noah was good enough for now. He was grateful that she had chosen sides with him.

Noah walked toward the door, same as the rocket team. Alphonse followed, his light brunette head bowed in silence. Once again, he was lost deep in thought. He was seeing those images again.

What brought him out of his deep trance was the fact that he couldn't deny. It was definitely showing on the outside. He felt weird. How could he tell that it was showing?

"Hey, kid, you feeling okay?" Al jumped back to reality. Literally. The group was at the door and for some reason Al had stopped a little ways off. The guys from the rocket team always called him "kid", in order not to confuse Alfons with Alphonse, or the other way around. Either way, it was the same reason.

And for another odd reason that was way beneath him, Al actually told the truth this time. He shook his head, which resulted in a minor migraine. Noah walked slowly back to Al's side. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and Al could tell she could see the images. This was time was different for Al. This time, he couldn't make the images stop.

He felt the ground rushing up fast to meet him. He managed to slip one word out before fully blacking out.

"Brother…"

_Up on Eckhart's rocket, standing next to General Mustang, was Alphonse Elric. His brother and himself had just defeated Eckhart and now the war was over. Now they were at a dead end. What do they do now?_

_Mustang and Al turned around to see Edward, standing in the entrance Mustang was guarding. He didn't look at them. He simply stared at the ground. He wasn't smiling. Something was troubling his mind._

"_So what now?" Mustang asked._

_Edward clapped his hands together and separated the rocket into two parts. The wing started drifting away from the main part of the ship._

"_Brother? Brother, what are you doing?" Al tried to get closer, but Mustang held him back. Al knew what his brother was trying to do. He just didn't want to believe it. He was wishing that it wasn't true._

"_That should be enough alchemic material to get yourselves down," Ed said, calmly, like nothing was wrong._

"_What about you?" Mustang asked. "Where will you go?"_

_Alphonse was trembling and trying to hold back tears. He didn't want to lose his brother again after two years of searching for him. He was trying in all his power to keep his older brother here. In Amestris._

"_I'm gonna take what's left of these soldiers back to their world," Ed continued._

"_Why? You don't have to go with them!" Alphonse yelled._

_He could hear his voice cracking a bit from tears welling up in his eyes. He sounded desperate. He was desperate._

"_I have to break the gate on their side, and I need you to stay here, Al, and destroy it on this side too, so the portal can never be opened again," Edward said, turning away. But Al wouldn't give up._

"_What about Winry? Don't you know she misses you too?"_

_Edward froze for a moment then turned to his little brother and held up his automail arm to him._

"_Tell her thanks. She always made the best," he said, a small smile on his face._

_Then he turned away, and he didn't look back._

"_Wait! Brother, no! I just got you back! You can't go again!"_

_Al kept calling out to him, but Ed ignored him and disappeared back into the ship. The feeling of abandonment washed over Al. Al no longer held back the tears and he fought against Mustang to get out of his strong hold._

_When was the last time he felt like this? Memories of the night of their mistake came flooding back into his mind. He remembered reaching out for his brother as the gate sucked him in. He had the same feeling as now._

_The feeling of being left behind. The feeling of being abandoned…_

When Al woke up next, it was sunny outside. Wherever he was, it was eerily quiet. He noticed peach-colored walls that belonged to a familiar place. He looked over to the side and saw Noah, who was wide awake.

"Noah?" Al croaked out. His throat felt like it was scratched up. It hurt to talk.

"Alphonse?" Her smile returned. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Like hell," Al managed. He coughed.

"Do you need anything?" Noah asked.

Al nodded. "Yeah. Some water would be nice." Noah nodded and exited the room.

Al had so many questions to ask. But he was positive that Noah couldn't answer them all. After all, she was only person that he last remembered seeing. He remembered seeing the rocketry team including Heidrich.

But he remembered focusing on his brother. He was aware that the others were there, but he was only focusing on his older brother. Before Al passed out, he saw a strange look on his brother's face. What was it?

Noah returned not long after with a glass of water. Al took it and took a little sip before speaking.

"So where am I?" Al asked, his voice sounding and his throat feeling much better.

"In the apartment," Noah answered. "Are you feeling better?"

"Better than I was on that day. But I still feel awful. How long have I been out?" That was what Al needed to know the most.

"About five days. We've all been worried about you," Noah said gently.

"Oh. Wait…'we'?"

Noah nodded.

"Who is 'we'?" Al asked. He was confused. Who was worried about him besides Noah?

"Let's see…the rocketry team," Noah said. They would only be genuinely concerned because he was Ed's little brother. And any friend of Edward's was a friend of theirs. "Alfons Heidrich," Noah went on. Wait! That jerk? Why the hell was he worried about his counter-part? "Mr. and Mrs. Hughes," Noah said. Oh, that was nice. "And you're brother…" Oh.

Wait…

"My brother? He was worried about…me?" Al asked slowly, trying to comprehend Noah's words.

Noah nodded. "Yes. He would not leave your bedside. He was doing all in his power to make sure you were sleeping right. We had to threaten to beat him to death if he didn't get some sleep himself."

"When was that?" That just flew out of the young boy's mouth. He didn't mean to say it.

"A half an hour ago," Noah said. "I hope he is asleep. He was too scared to leave your side. At one time, you were very close to dying. Your brother can really be stubborn at times."

Al's eyes softened at the mention of this. "Yeah, you get used to it. And I was going to die?"

"Yes. Your fever got so high that we had to bring the doctor in. He gave you some medicine, though, to heal you. Edward would not do anything away from your side until the doctor was certain that you were going to survive."

Al's closed his eyes and tried to stop some little tears from coming. His brother still cared about him that much? Maybe Al should talk to his brother about his feelings…

Noah's soft voice broke Al's train of thoughts. "You were delirious."

Al looked at her with the famous 'deer-in-the-headlights' look.

"Ever since you passed out in the school basement until now, you've said things that you've been keeping inside for three years," Noah explained. "I will not repeat all that you said. Just some stuff."

"Name one," Al said, refusing to look her in the eyes. "Just one…" He just couldn't believe that he was actually delirious. He had actually said some stuff that was going to ever tell anyone. Like the fact that he hated Heidrich…

"You kept repeating the same line over and over. You said, _'Please, Brother. Don't leave me.'_ You kept saying that in various forms, but it all had the same message. I'm sorry, but needless to say, I was curious about it. And so I touched your shoulder and I saw you suspended in the air with a man holding you back and your brother walking away from you." She paused. "That was in your world, wasn't it? Three months ago, right?"

Al could only nod. His life was officially over.

~FMA~FMA~FMA~FMA~

A/N: Review, please! And this AlxNoah paring was simply friendship, okay?

So will the two brothers make up? And will Al release his hatred and anger for Heidrich? Or will little Al suffer more? Read the next chapter/Part 2 to find out!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Same as previous chapter. This part is written in Ed's point of view.

WARNING: Please do NOT mistake this as Elricest or Yaoi, PLEASE! This is strictly friendly/brotherly love. There is also a bit of language from Ed, but that's normal, right?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its brilliant characters. Hiromu Arakawa owns them I never will, sadly. Thank you, Arakawa-sensei, for making such awesome characters!

Also, in the last chapter I said: _'"Ever since you passed out in the school basement until now, you've said things that you've been keeping inside for three years," Noah explained.'_ I actually meant _'months'_, not _'years'_. So, yeah, thank you for your patience.

This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer, Capitano, and all you Edward Elric lovers! Thank you all for reading!

~FMA~FMA~FMA~FMA~

**Kizuna no Kyoudai**

_Edward Elric_

Edward Elric, age nineteen, as his birthday was two months ago, opened his golden eyes slowly. He turned his head to the side and saw his best friend.

"Hey, Ed, you feeling okay?" Heidrich asked him.

"Not really. I'm still worried as hell," Ed said. "Alphonse…is he okay? Is my brother alright? Is he still alive?"

"Slow down, Ed. I can only answer one question at a time," Heidrich said. "So far, he's still alive and breathing, and just a few minutes ago, Noah came in to the kitchen to get a glass of water for him and said he was awake."

Ed's golden blonde head snapped up and he sat up in the bed immediately. "He is?"

Heidrich nodded. "Noah's talking to him right now, and personally, I think it's better if we just leave her as the only visitor right now. He seems to be talking to her a lot more than he talks to us."

Ed's heart fell, but something told him that Heidrich was right.

"Why you don't you go back to sleep, Ed?" Heidrich told him with a gentle smile. "You now know the fate of your brother, so why don't you go to sleep with the knowledge that your little brother is okay?"

Ed nodded.

When Ed woke up next, he had gone to the kitchen first for a cup of coffee. He needed the coffee right now. Then he went back to his room to get dressed and then onward to the bathroom to do his hair.

As he looked in the mirror, he couldn't help but wonder why Al had kept his hair long.

"_Brother, when I grow up, I want to be just like you!"_

Ed cracked a small smile. Now, Al was like his brother. When he saw Al three months ago, Al had the same clothes as he did when he was a State Alchemist. He had the hair, he still did, black clothes, the hair antennae, and the same red coat. Al said it was from Ed's closet, but Ed didn't mind. He was just glad to have his brother back.

Why had Al followed him again?

Al followed him back here, to be with his older brother. Al had spent all of his childhood with his brother, four years in the armor, and two years searching for Ed. After two years, Al wasn't going to give up when Ed left. Al knew that he couldn't do anything about Ed leaving. His brother's mind was set, and Al had no way to change it. So Alphonse Elric simply jumped onto the ship at the last minute, while Roy Mustang had volunteered to destroy that gate instead, even after he told Al to stay in Amestris and do it.

Ed sighed. That was Al's reason for staying here, even though this wasn't home.

"_I'd rather be here with my brother, than Amestris without him…"_

That's what Al said the first night of his arrival. And Al had meant it. With all his innocent, kind, fragile heart, his little brother meant it. And all Ed had done was taking that phrase for granted and destroy it.

But this time, today, when he was finished here in the bathroom, he would rebuild it again. He would remake that phrase and, this time, take care of it. He would hold it in his heart and he and Al would start over again.

That is, if Al ever forgave him…

Ed sighed again. That was the problem. Even though it was only one problem to worry about, Ed couldn't stop thinking about it.

It was his fault. Just like everything else.

"…ther…brother…wake up…" Ed woke up and saw his brother's gray eyes already open.

Ed had gone in after leaving the bathroom, only to find Alphonse asleep again. He met Noah on the way in and she said that Al was only tired. Ed came in anyway and sat down in the chair that Noah had sat in. However, Edward had fallen asleep after ten minutes of watching his brother peacefully sleep like he didn't have a care in the world.

Ed looked over at the clock on the bedside table with a yawn and saw the two hours had passed.

"Al? Al, you're awake! How do you feel?" Edward asked.

"Better than I was when I last woke up…"

"That's good…" Ed said, still just happy that he was still awake and alive.

This was followed by a short silence. A short awkward silence. Neither of the brothers could think of anything to say…

"Brother?" Al asked, a little shy.

"Yeah?" Ed asked him, encouraging his brother to continue.

"Was I…really delirious?" Ed sighed mentally.

"Yeah…"

"W-What all did I say?" Why was his little brother refusing to look him in the eye right now? Then again, why was he refusing to look Al in the eye as well?

"A lot of things…" Ed said quietly.

"Like what?" Al asked.

"First of all, you kept repeating various names of people back home. Winry, Granny Pinako, you name it, you said it…"

Al's face fell. "Oh…"

Here goes. "Don't be ashamed, Al. I know you miss home, and to tell you the truth, Al, I do too. I wish we were back as much as you do."

Ed saw a little smile find its way to his little brother's face. This made Edward smile a bit too. Just seeing his brother happy was enough to make him happy too. And Ed hated to break this, but he had to.

"However, you said some things that I need you to explain for me…" Ed said slowly.

Ed knew it. As soon as he said 'explain', Al's smile was no more and his young, innocent face had fallen.

"I said…something about Heidrich…didn't I?" Al asked his older brother, obviously dreading the answer.

"Yeah, and you said something about me too. Actually, a lot of what you said was about Alfons and me." He could tell that Al didn't want to talk ever talk about this again, but Ed had to know. "Al…I know this is uncomfortable for you, but I need to know the truth, alright? No lies…"

He heard something like a soft whimper coming from his younger brother by now five years. Ed's heart fell even more. He absolutely hated doing this to Al, especially now since Al had a second shot at childhood and he was thirteen instead of seventeen. That meant Al was more fragile than before. Heidrich was seventeen, the age Al should've been right now, but now his little brother was thirteen, all because of Edward's foolish decision to bring back their mother.

"Al?" Edward asked, his golden eyes quickly filling with worry. He placed his flesh hand on his little brother's forehead. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? You are getting pretty warm…"

Ed should've never brought this up.

"Brother, I've been keeping all my pain inside for three months straight. I never wanted to reveal it out loud, because…well…I was afraid of how you would react...you, Heidrich, and everyone else…"

Edward felt himself actually tearing up this time. "Al…you can tell me anything. You know that…"

"I didn't want to ruin your friendship with Heidrich, that's all."

Edward felt a tear fall from his golden eye, but he didn't care. He simply brought Al close to his chest and hugged him as tightly as he could without choking his brother. "Al…" Ed couldn't help it. He let his tears fall.

"I'm sorry, brother…"

Ed cut him off. "No, no, Al. I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm the one who started this whole mess."

"Brother…"

Ed cut him off again. "No exceptions, Al. It's my fault and I'll pay the price for it. No one should have to pay the price for me, least of all my own little brother."

They stayed like that for a while. No words were needed. Ed knew that Al had forgiven him.

"Brother?" Al asked softly, this time with a hint of happiness in his voice.

"Yeah?" Ed asked, with a smile also evident in his voice.

"Will you be okay now?" Al asked his brother. Any other person would have taken this as a stupid question, but Ed knew better. To him, it wasn't a stupid question. It was a simple curiosity.

"It depends…will _you_ be okay?" Ed asked.

He felt Al nod into his chest. "Yeah…"

Edward Elric's smile grew. "Well, then, the same goes for me."

There it was. They were both happy now. Edward felt content. His little brother had forgiven him and they had the ability to start over. He held his brother closer and tighter to him. They were all they had.

"Brother?" Edward jumped back to reality.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you crying?"

He was crying? Why? He wasn't even aware that his eyes were watering.

"I'm not crying," Ed said. He couldn't. He shouldn't. He had to be strong for Al.

"Brother?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't lie. It's bad for you. Mom told us not to do it." Edward inwardly smiled. Four to five years inside a suit of armor made Al able to read Ed like an open book, while Al could hide most of his emotions from the world, the only one really understanding him the most being Ed.

"Alright, fine. Yeah, I am."

He could feel Al smiling against his chest. "Why?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's just, we're all we have. If we don't take care of each other, no one else will. We're not in Amestris, Al. We need to look after each other. And when you ran out five days ago, that made me realize that you could've gotten hurt."

"Worse than what I have now?" Al asked softly.

Ed paused. What could be worse than a fatal fever? "Well, kind of…"

"Brother, I'm fine now. I'm still alive. At least we got to apologize."

While Ed was sort of the pessimist and aggressive one, Al had always been the gentle and optimistic one. Ed smiled again, even though Al couldn't see it. They had always been so close, even now, even though they were complete opposites at times.

"Yeah, Al. You're right. You're absolutely right." Ed loosened the hug they were in. He started to get up and yawned. "I'm beat…" he was about to walk away when he felt a tug on his left, his flesh, wrist. He turned to Al with a questioning look.

"Please, Brother…stay here…" Al had that puppy dog look in his eyes. Normally, Ed would've said no, but either it was because this time he was too tired to argue or it was just the fact that he and his brother had just become like best friends again or it was because Al looked, and was, fragile at the moment. He didn't really know. He didn't care. It was probably all those put together.

Ed gently smiled. "Of course, Al."

The two fell asleep in each other's arms just twenty seconds later.

_Alphonse Elric stopped all of a sudden. He really didn't look so hot right now. One of Heidrich's friends, Rolf, had noticed this._

"_Hey, kid, you feeling okay?" He asked the thirteen-year-old, who was now swaying on his feet._

_Alphonse literally jumped back to reality. He paused, and then shook his head. This surprised the others, because Al was usually one that said he was okay, even though he didn't look or feel like it._

_Noah walked over to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Alphonse?"_

_For some odd reason that was way beneath him, Edward stopped his conversation with Alfons and slowly turned around to face his little brother. His mature, golden eyes met the gentle, gray eyes of his brother._

"_Al?" Ed whispered as Al swayed on his feet some more._

"_Brother…" Al whispered as he collapsed to the ground._

_Noah kneeled beside him. "Alphonse, are you alright?" She placed her hand on his forehead and took it away just as fast. "He has a fever," she told the others that were now surrounding her and Alphonse._

_Ed finally snapped out of whatever illusion he was seeing. "Al? Al!" He ran to his brother's side and held him in his arms. "Al! Wake up, Al! Answer me, Alphonse!"_

_Alphonse unconsciously turned his head to the side facing his older brother. "Brother…" he mumbled. Ed smiled tearfully, thinking his little brother had come around. "How c-…" Ed stopped and his smile faded. "How could you…?" The room became deathly quiet as little Alphonse deliriously spilled out his true feelings. About his older brother, about the images from the Gate, about everything basically…but most importantly, about Alfons Heidrich…_

_There was an intense, awkward (majorly awkward) silence following this. Alfons Heidrich kept his distance from Ed and Al. Edward, however, looked like he wanted to cry._

"_He…he doesn't really mean that, right?" One of the guys from the rocket team asked Ed._

_Before Ed had a chance to answer, Rolf interjected his opinion. "He can't mean that. It's impossible."_

"_It's not," Ed finally said, before anyone else could put in their two cents. "One of the most important rules that Al lives by is 'Don't lie'. He sticks to that, even if it means destroying his good image. Trust me. He's not lying." No one else dared to say anything else. Edward turned to his unconscious brother in his arms with a sad and fearful look. _

Ed's golden eyes snapped open in a split second. He was breathing deeply and he was breaking out into a little cold sweat. He rubbed his forehead with his flesh hand. He had thought the nightmares were over, as they hadn't occurred since three months ago. But clearly, the nightmares weren't done with him yet.

He turned to look at his sleeping brother. Al's face was peaceful and he didn't look like he was having nightmares. Ed cracked a small smile. Al was finally peacefully asleep without a care in the world. That's how it should be.

Ed's smile disappeared though. He needed water. But that meant he would have to get up. He didn't want to leave Al, but he needed some space for a little bit.

"Dammit…" Ed silently cursed. He whispered in his brother's ear, "Al, I'm sorry." He gave his little brother a gentle kiss on his forehead before getting up and silently opening the door and leaving the room.

In the kitchen, Edward helped himself to all the water he needed. Even after all this time, he _still _hated milk. He took a big sip and heavily sighed.

_Edward had allowed no one else but himself to carry his brother back to his and Heidrich's apartment. Noah had opened the door for him and Ed set Al on his bed. He started taking Al's shoes off._

"_Ed…" He heard Heidrich from the doorway._

"_I'm sorry, Alfons. We'll talk later, okay?" He hadn't meant to say it as aggressively as he had. It was just sheer impulse. He just wanted to be alone with his little brother._

"_Yeah, but I noticed his ankle…" Ed was hanging al's trench coat on the coat hanger now. Now to get him out of his wet clothes, thought they were damp now. "I swa him limping. I think we need to take a look at it."_

_Ed nodded as he searched his brother's drawers for his pajamas. "I'll check it later."_

_Out of the corner of his eye, he say Heidrich nod and leave the room. Noah came in right after, carrying a bowl of cold water and a washcloth. She set it on the bedside table._

"_I hope he feels better," she said before leaving the room, closing the door behind her, much to Ed's relief. That was what Ed clearly wanted, nothing else._

"_Me too," he said to himself._

_Al slowly turned his head unconsciously toward the side facing his brother. "Brother…"_

_Ed acknowledged it by placing the now cold, wet washcloth on Al's burning forehead. His flesh hand took his brother's._

"_Come on, Al. Don't give up on me now…"_

Ed was brought back to the real world by a gentle and on his shoulder. He turned to see Heidrich's worried face staring into his.

"You okay?" Heidrich asked.

"Yeah," Ed said. "Just reliving the past five days."

"Is he okay?" He didn't need to explain who that was about. Ed knew he was talking about younger counterpart.

Ed nodded, calmly. "He is now." Ed now sounded content.

"Did you two make up?"

Ed smiled. "Yeah."

"Good. I was worried that you wouldn't," Heidrich said, relief staining his voice.

"I think he was waiting for me." Heidrich turned to his partner in confusion. "I have this strange feeling that he was waiting for me to apologize. Well, anyways, I'm fine now, Alfons. Thanks for asking."

Heidrich let a smile slide across his face now. "I'm glad. I'm going back to work now, okay?"

"Okay," Ed said, as Heidrich left the kitchen.

_It was day four, and Al's fever had become so dangerously high that Mrs. Hughes had called the doctor in to check on Alphonse._

"_His temperature reads over 107 degrees. If his fever doesn't break soon, he will die…"_

_Ed knew the doctor was still talking, but he couldn't hear him. Edward's world was slowing to a complete stop. That was all Ed heard. If Al's fever didn't break soon, he would cease to exist. That's what Ed's worst nightmare was, but he never expected this nightmare to become real._

_As Ed whispered his brother's name over and over again, he felt the tears fall freely. Al couldn't die…he was too strong for that…_

_Ed only remembered crying a lot that day. He kept holding Al's hand, never wanting to let go, listening to Al's delirious rambling that kept making Ed's heart break, no matter what he said, and feeling the tears falling down his face, never stopping, not even when Al suddenly showed a random sign of waking up, only for it to be false. He remembered repeating one line over and over again._

"_No, Al…please…don't go…don't leave me…don't give up on me now, Al…"_

_That was all Ed would say to Al…_

In the present, Ed felt a single tear fall down his face. He wiped it away in a hurry. He was supposed to be strong, he was the oldest, but he couldn't live without Al. It was like Ed was the dark and Al was the light. They both needed the other in order to survive.

He ambled on back to Al's room, suspecting him to still be asleep. But when Ed opened the door, he saw a sight he never expected on seeing ever in his life.

Al was out of bed, awake, but was sitting on the floor, wincing, holding his hurt ankle in pain.

"Al!" Ed rushed to his brother's side.

Al's pain filled eyes met his brother's worried ones, and he smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Brother…"

"What the hell were you doing?" Ed asked, as he helped his brother back into bed.

"I was going to find you. I woke up, but you weren't there and I was worried, so I couldn't help but get up and find you. But, I forgot about my ankle. What's wrong with it?"

"It's sprained," Ed simply said, with a small smile. Al had the nerve to get up and search for his brother, even though he wasn't in the right condition to do so.

"Is it bad?"

"Yeah, it's pretty bad. Or, it was. Not so much now," Ed explained. "How did it happen?"

"How did what happen?" Al was obviously confused.

"How did you sprain your ankle?" Ed said, with patience lacing his voice. He wasn't usually a man of patience, but when it came to his brother, he could keep his temper in longer than usual.

"Oh, that. Remember five days ago when I ran out? You see, it was raining and I was running, and I tripped. I guess it was worse than what it felt like. I decided to rest for a bit and I, uh, fell asleep without meaning to and five hours later, I woke up to Mr. and Mrs. Hughes, who then took me to the University. And well, you know the rest…"

When Ed finally spoke, his voice was dangerously quiet. "What? You fell asleep in the rain for five hours? No wonder you were sick." He suddenly whacked the back of his little brother's head. "Don't you ever do that again, you hear me? You nearly gave me a damn heart attack!"

Instead of crying like he usually would, which would make Ed feel guilty for yelling, Al simply giggled. He was smiling, which surprised Ed a lot. "Yes, Brother…"

It took a while for Ed to snap out of it, but when he did, he ruffled to top of Al's head, messing up his hair a bit, which earned him a little glare from Al. "You almost died, Al, and I could never stand it if you left me. You mean too much to me, Al…"

Al's glare softened up and he smiled. "Same here, Brother…"

After a little while, something struck Ed. He hated to bring this up as well, but it had to be done.

"Hey, Al…"

"Yes, Brother?"

"I hate to ask you this, but could you spend some time with Heidrich? I think you two need to get along. Just for at least fifteen minutes, okay, Al?"

Al sighed heavily. Just as Ed thought, this wasn't what Al wanted to do right away, and Ed mentally slapped himself for making Al go through this.

"Of course, Brother. At least fifteen minutes…I'll try…"

"Thanks, Al…I appreciate the effort…" Ed's smile was slowly starting to fade.

Would this fail or would this succeed? Would Heidrich and Al become friends or would they stay enemies?

~FMA~FMA~FMA~FMA~

A/N: Well? Review, please! Any type of comment is welcome! Should I change something? Tell me, please!

Attention: Part 3 is Alfons Heidrich's chapter! Please stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Same as the previous chapter. Only this time, it's in Alfons Heidrich's point of perspective, at least most of it. Some of it, as a mistake from my part (forgive me!), is Alphonse Elric's, but it's only a couple of paragraphs or so.

WARNING: Please do NOT mistake this as Elricest or Yaoi, PLEASE! This is strictly friendly/brotherly love.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its brilliant characters. Hiromu Arakawa owns them. I never will, sadly. Thank you, Arakawa-sensei, for making such awesome characters!

This chapter is dedicated to all you Alfons Heidrich lovers! (I know you're out there!) Thank you all for reading! I hope this chapter explains everything!

In addition, my faithful reviewer, Capitano, mentioned something in her review for the second chapter that I forgot to add in there, but thanks to my talent of improvising, I've managed to work my way around that obstacle. So here it is!

~FMA~FMA~FMA~FMA~

**Kizuna no Kyoudai**

_Alfons Heidrich_

Alfons Heidrich, age eighteen now, had opened his blue eyes the next morning to a bright and sunny day outside. Yesterday afternoon, the brothers had made up. They were friends again. Best friends.

That made Alfons really happy, but then again, it was made him kind of anxious. Would Al forgive him just as quickly as he forgave his brother? How long would it take to get Al to forgive him? Or better yet, _what _would it take?

Alfons didn't mean to, but he was listening through the door when Edward asked his brother to spend at fifteen minutes with Alfons. He had simply been walking by toward to the kitchen to see if Ed was still there, but turns out he wasn't. He stopped when he heard Al's voice talking happily to Edward, and he just…heard it.

Right now, it was five o'clock in the afternoon. He heard voices in the other room and opened his door a little to see what was going on.

"Brother, it's getting late. You should stay here and wait until morning," Alphonse told his brother, worry visible in his voice.

Edward simply laughed. "Come on, Al. I'll be fine. It's only five in the afternoon. Besides, Noah will be going with me."

Alfons stopped. Both Edward and Noah would be gone…That means…Edward was giving some excuse to make Alphonse and Heidrich make up and try to be friends.

_Oh, good grief, Ed…can't you let him find his own time?_ Alfons thought._ Let him talk to me when he _wants_ to talk to me…_

Sometimes, Ed could be very devious…that was one of the downsides of having Ed as a roommate. You never knew what he was up to, unless he told you himself.

"But, Brother…" Ed cut his brother by putting his hand up to his brother's mouth.

"It's only grocery shopping, Al. I'll be fine."

"_Brother_…" Al pressed. Urgency and worry was ever so present in his little thirteen-year-old voice.

"I'll be back in half an hour, Al, ok?" With that Edward left the apartment with Noah following him.

About five minutes later, Alfons was sitting on the couch, reading a book on rocketry, of course. He hadn't heard Alphonse come in, until little Al spoke up.

"May I sit here with you?" Heidrich couldn't help but look upon him like an older brother would. He was so shy and so cute, in a total little brother kind of sense.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." It was an awkward silence between the two as Al sat down. Heidrich didn't want to break it. He wanted Al to do it. He did not want to cause any conflicts with the younger boy, especially not right after the two brothers made up. After a couple of silent minutes, someone spoke.

"So…how are you?" Al sounded shy and distant. Heidrich remembered that Al really didn't want to do this, that Ed had pushed it on him. Heidrich wrote down a mental note to beat the living hell out of Ed later for making his own little brother go through this.

"Okay," Heidrich gently responded. "You?"

After a while, Al responded with a "Same…" so quiet that Heidrich had to strain a bit to hear it. Luckily, it had been quiet at that time.

Heidrich had been thinking of curious, yet kind and gentle questions that he could ask the younger boy earlier. However, Heidrich didn't want to pry with Al until they felt comfortable around each other.

"Hey, Alphonse?"

"Yeah?" Again with the quiet and shyness…

"How could you forgive Ed so easily? I mean, after what he did to you?" Heidrich tried to word it as kindly as possible.

It took Al only about thirty seconds to respond this time.

"Because, he's my brother. I love him too much to hate him. You had a brother, right?" Heidrich nodded, surprised that Al knew about his older brother Eduard Heidrich. Edward must have told him. "There, so I'm sure you understand, because you've been there before. I mean, all siblings fight, right?" Al earned another nod from Heidrich. "And besides," Al continued, "it's somehow in my nature to forgive easily. Along with being a bit naïve."

Heidrich, for some reason, could actually relate to that. When they were young, Eduard would call him naïve and too kind and a bit too trusting. It seems like Edward's younger brother was the same as he himself was.

"I think you should know the reason that your brother was ignoring you, and you, being his little brother, automatically has the right to know about anything that happens to Ed."

Al blinked his wide, bright, gray eyes in curiosity. "Why Brother was acting the way he was?"

Heidrich nodded again. "One, he was trying to let you get comfortable and settle in here. He figured that you would need some personal space and time to yourself to get used to how we do things here in Munich."

Alphonse nodded. He understood that perfectly.

"Two, I have an illness that makes me cough up blood sometimes, and it's fatal if you didn't know, so Ed was simply being a good friend, and spending as much time with me as possible before my time runs out."

Al paused. Coughing up blood…that reminded him of his teacher, Izumi Curtis, and how she vomited blood every now and then, and usually had to be put to bed early because of it. He recalled her last smile to him that evening before they went to bed. He recalled her last "good night" to him. He recalled the sad memory of seeing her dead in her bed, having died peacefully in her sleep.

However, Al's mind switched to another fact. No one ever told him about Heidrich's illness.

"You have the same illness as Teacher did?" Al directed this more as a statement than a question, but he still wanted it to be answered.

"You…didn't know that?" Heidrich asked slowly. Al shook his head. Heidrich sighed. "Perfect. Another thing to hold against your brother when I beat him up later…" Heidrich outwardly coated it with sarcasm, but Heidrich meant it. He thought he told Ed to tell Al about his illness. Apparently, Ed failed to tell his brother anything…

However, much to Heidrich's surprise, because he was expecting Al to get mad and defend his brother, Al softly giggled into the back of his hand. This resulted into Heidrich smiling affectionately at him for the first time.

"Is there another reason, or is that it?" Al asked.

"There's one more, Alphonse. Don't worry. And three, something one of the guys from the rocket team said to Ed made him a little paranoid about you."

Al's honey brown eyebrows lifted in surprise. "What was it?"

"Edward actually made me swear not to tell you. And it's for a good reason. It could seriously damage Ed's pride if you knew. And possibly even yours."

Heidrich expected Alphonse to pry and press at it a bit more.

"It's okay. I understand," Al said, making Heidrich look at him in surprise. "I don't want to hurt my brother anymore than he already is. Ever since we were kids, we've been a bit overprotective of each other."

Heidrich nodded once again. "Oh, speaking of kids." He leaned over to the drawer under the coffee table and pulled it open. He pulled out a big, old, dusty book. He closed the little door and said to the younger boy, "Cover your nose and mouth. Fair warning." Al obeyed him and Heidrich blew some of the dust off the cover. He opened the cover to the first page.

The first page was not a first page you find in a book, but a foreword that said "Welcome to the Memories of Alfons Heidrich". That meant only one thing.

"Could it really be…?" Al mumbled and Heidrich turned the next page.

It was a photo album. The album contained various pictures that were all black and white, as color photos didn't exist in this world yet. Most of them were from Heidrich's childhood. About half were of Eduard and Alfons, the brothers belonging to this world, whereas Edward and Alphonse were the brothers who belonged to Amestris.

Some of them were of the rocket gang. Alphonse pointed about to Alfons the two rocket guys who were the mirror images of Roa and Dolcetto, two of Greed's faithful chimera companions. He softly smiled and told the older boy at how well they actually treated him, even though he was their hostage. His mind and story then came to Marta, and how she had died in his armor. She had died from the very thing he tried to shield her from. And it was too late. He had shaken his head to clear the agonizing images.

A few of them were of Alfons and Edward. Alfons told the younger boy about their times during those two years. How much fun they had together…

However, one of them, in fact, the very last one took up an entire page, the last page that had something on it. There were a few blank pages left, but that mattered to neither Al nor Heidrich. What got Al's attention was the fact that the picture contained not only Alfons and Edward, but Noah and Alphonse as well.

"I…don't remember that…" Al said.

Alfons's mind flashed back to that day. It was still so traumatizing to even Heidrich.

"It would be surprising if you did." Al looked up at Alfons with a curious look that was mixed with the feeling of being lost.

"What are you talking about?" Al asked.

"A few days after you arrived here, we took that picture and I kept it here in this album, which is my memories that I've kept close to me, to my heart. This album holds my most precious memories, and I've kept my copy of that picture ever since. But the day after, I was almost hit by a car, but you saved me and we were both hit and sent to the hospital, because we both had serious injuries. We were both fine, but the only thing that was out of place on you was the fact that you thought it was the day after you arrived here in Munich. We had to tell you that it had been actually six days later. You were very confused about the whole thing."

"I got amnesia…" Al mumbled to himself.

"Traumatic amnesia to be exact. It follows brain damage by a severe non-penetrative blow to the head, like a road accident, which was your case. It could've lead to anything, from a loss of consciousness for a few seconds to a coma. We were lucky you were only out for two days and no serious brain damage had occurred. But you still couldn't remember the accident, nor the days after you came here leading up to it."

"Brother said that I was naturally asleep for six days. That wasn't true?" Al asked.

"No. He was making up an excuse not to worry you. None of us wanted to inform you about the accident just yet so all of us decided to keep it quiet."

"All of us?"

"Yeah, Ed and I. Naturally, Noah always worries. But we were coming home from the University."

"And the rocket team too?" Al received a nod from the older boy.

Alphonse paused, while Alfons gathered up all the memory from that day and told it to the younger boy in a story.

_After yet another promising day at the University, working and researching nothing but rockets, the rocket team, plus Edward, Heidrich, Noah, and Alphonse were walking home. It was one of those days where neither of them minded the others' flaws or problems. In fact, they all helped each other with personal problems, especially Alphonse._

_Al was very good with giving others advice. Edward was proud constantly about being his older brother. In fact, he never stopped being proud._

_However, everyone was so happy that no one was really paying attention, especially to the road. Alfons had gone ahead across the street. He remembered Alphonse Elric yelling out his name as if they were far apart from each other. He remembered turning to see Alphonse running toward him, fast like the wind itself was chasing him._

_Alfons Heidrich was not aware that he was about to be hit by a car until it was too late. Alphonse had jumped in front of him and pushed him out of the way, taking the brunt of the hit…_

_Alfons woke up next in a hospital room. The top of his bedside table was covered with various vases of flowers and "Get Well Soon" cards. He looked to his side and saw Rolf standing there intently staring at him._

"_Rolf…" Alfons acknowledged. Rolf nodded in return._

"_How are you feeling?"_

"_Sore. How's the kid?" Alfons asked, remembering that the younger Al had taken most of the shock of the crash._

"_He's in a little coma right now. You've been out for at least twenty-two hours," Rolf explained. Wait…what? The kid was in a coma?_

_Heidrich painfully turned his head to the side where, sure enough, Alphonse Elric, was in a hospital bed just like Heidrich. He looked like he was okay, but Rolf was right. He was in a coma. And all because of him. All because Heidrich wasn't watching his surroundings…_

There was a short silence that the younger Al broke.

"You know, your childhood…is a lot like mine…"

"Really?" Al nodded. "Were you really stuck in a suit of armor for four years?"

"Yeah…just…be thankful you didn't have to go through it…"

"Alright, I'll remember that…"

After a few more seconds of silence, Al broke it again.

"Mr. Heidrich…I'm sorry for all the trouble and worry I've caused you for the past two months now…I'm sorry for making your life a living hell for the past week."

"None taken. If I were in your shoes, I would feel the same way," Heidrich said, the younger boy leaning his head of Heidrich's shoulder and closing his eyes. Heidrich could feel his own dropping as well.

When Alfons opened his eyes again, it was the door unlocking that had caught his attention. He had fallen asleep. Careful not to wake the still sleeping Al beside him, he turned to face the opening door. Noah and, then eventually, Ed made their way into the apartment with the grocery bags in their arms. Noah took the groceries into the kitchen, while Ed turned toward the couch slowly.

"Where's Al?" He asked Heidrich. Heidrich motioned the older boy to be quiet like a mouse and pointed beside him. Ed softly walked over to the couch, where he found Heidrich and Al quietly resting together. Alfons saw Ed softly smile and then sit down next to his brother, rubbing small, soothing circles into the small of his back. Ed then looked up at Heidrich, as if to ask, "What happened?"

"Don't worry, Ed," Alfons said softly in a whisper. "We're friends now. We've made up."

"Good," Ed whispered back.

"Angels really do exist…" Heidrich said, which made Ed look up at him, curious. "I met one today." Here he motioned quietly at Alphonse, to which Ed gently smiled again.

"That rocket guy said that Al was such an angel and so innocent that a demon and a sinner like me should be ashamed to even be around him…" Ed softly whispered, a tone of sadness and guilt evident in his voice.

"That made you sort of paranoid about your own brother," Alfons said.

"Yeah, but you know, Al's the one who kept me sane all those years…" Ed finished.

Heidrich simply smiled. Either it was his imagination or Alphonse Elric wasn't really asleep and had woken up the same time that Heidrich himself did.

As if to cover the evidence that he was only half-asleep, Alphonse turned to lean his head on his brother's warm shoulder instead.

After getting all three smiling, Ed and Heidrich turned back to their whispered conversation.

"Al may be an angel," Ed continued, "but sometimes, even angels need demons to hold them steady. It's the same way with demons. Sometimes, they need angels to keep themselves from going insane. Some demon and angel pairs rely on each other for support. It's the same way with Al and I. And I'm not ashamed of Al in the least. And I'm positive Al's not ashamed of me."

"I also think you should know about Al though. He always understands everyone thoroughly, and he also forgives very easily and almost immediately."

Ed smirked. "That's Al for ya. I keep telling him not to be that forgiving, but he never listens to me…"

"It's in his nature…"

"That's true. It is. Al was always much nicer than I was. Only Mom and Al could be forgiven by me that easily like Al. No one else, not even Winry…."

Alfons chuckled a bit. His mind went to earlier, when he was showing Al the photo album.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?" Ed said, gently stroking his baby brother's honey brown hair.

"I told Al about the accident. You know, the one where he received traumatic amnesia?"

"Yes. I thought we would tell him together," Ed said.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. However, we were flipping through my photo album and he saw the picture we took a few days after Alphonse arrived here. He said he couldn't remember that day and I was forced to tell him. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Ed said. "He would've found out anyways, regardless of told him."

"But the doctor said that he may never regain those memories," Heidrich pointed out.

"I never said otherwise, if you were paying attention," Ed said. "I just said that he would've found out, _regardless of who told him_. I meant that someone was going tot ell him eventually. To tell you the truth, I would've told him anyways if you wouldn't, just to get it off my mind."

"I still can't believe I didn't see that car coming," Heidrich said, with a hint of guilt in his voice.

"Me neither, but just be thankful that someone did," Ed reassured him.

Alphonse Elric's gray eyes fluttered open to see his brother's face above his. When he saw Ed, he smiled, relieved that he was okay.

"You're home, Brother," Al simply said.

"Yeah. What'd you think? That I'd get jumped or something? Even if I did, I would've won anyways. I mean, I have the automail here," Ed said.

Both Als laughed a bit at this. Noah chose that moment to poke her head out of the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready, you three," she said gently. "You want some?"

She got three answers straight away, and they weren't negative.

Noah smiled as the four sat down at the table and they all chatted away. Everything was the way it was before Al's amnesic accident.

It was always meant to be this way.

~FMA~FMA~FMA~FMA~

A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed this short story. I may do another one if I find the motivation to write. I don't have writer's block, I just simply have a motivation block, that's all. The best way you can help me get over this motivation block is review, review, and review! Heck, even a favorite or something. Anything to let me know that you liked my story.

Ja ne~! DreamStar14 out!


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